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Decommissioning forms

Separation between wind turbines and overhead lines

Although connection requests for wind turbines/ farms are treated individually, the Energy Networks Association (ENA) have produced some “best practice” guidelines when locating them in the vicinity of overhead lines.

Engineering Recommendation L44 highlights two criteria when considering the location of wind turbines:

The turbine should be located sufficiently distant to avoid toppling onto an overhead line;

The turbine should be located sufficiently distant from an overhead line to avoid damage caused by wind wake effects.

In order to prevent any potential damage to an overhead line, the above criteria can be met by ensuring the minimum horizontal distance between the turbine and overhead conductors is the greater of the following:

The tip height of the turbine + 10%;

The tip height of the turbine + the electrical safety distance applicable to the voltage:

System Voltage (kV)

≤33

66

132

275

400

Falling towards line with conductor hanging vertically

1.7m

1.9m

2.3m

3.3m

4.0m

Turbine rotor diameters x 3.

Any projects where turbines encroach on one or all of these distances should be drawn to the attention of the local WPD District Office at the earliest opportunity to resolve any potential issues at development stage.